Fruit dumping method and apparatus



' Feb. 6, 1934. TURNER FRUI T DUMPING METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed Jan. 4, 1933 INVENTOR. 6 50/86 ,4- Tu/z Al /Y .4 TTORNE YS.

Patented Feb. 6, 1 934 I j UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRUIT DUMPING METHOD AND APPARATUS George A. Turner, Stockton, Calif.

Application January 4, 1933. Serial No. 650,069 9 Claims. (01. 214-11) This invention relates to the fruit industry in be revolved at a speed to handle two or three connection with packing and shipping, and has boxes a minute which is generally sufficient. for its object a method and means for dumping This drum is of a width to come within the transthe boxes of fresh fruit as received from the verse cleats 5 of a lug-box" 6 as shown best in 5 fields, without bumping or otherwise injuring Fig. 2. The drum is traversed by a belt 7 of equal on the fruit, so that it will be in better shape for width which extends outwardly and over a pulsubsequent operations or for sale afterpacking. ley 8. At the side of the drum are supports 9 Before describing the invention it would be well upon which the outer ends of the box rest when to state that according to the present practice inverted as shown in Fig. 2, the box being held 10 the fresh fruit is picked and placed in boxes in endwise in proper position by outer side plates 9'. as the field, transported to the packing houses and The lug boxes full of fruit may be placed one there dumped out of the boxes for grading, cleanat a time on a gravity roller conveyor 10 at posiing, packing, or canning, as may be desired. The tion A and roll down the conveyor to a point B dumping of the fruit is accomplished by simply and stop where the conveyor curves upwardly.

l5 inverting the boxes and permitting the fruit to The curve of the conveyor gradually closes in to- 70 fall out, either into a chute, conveyor, or other ward the drum until it is concentric with the axis device, and if the fruit is of a naturally delicate of the drum. The idler rollers indicated at 10 nature such as pears, it is frequently injured by on the gravity run may be omitted on the upbeing bumped and abraded so-that the fruit wardly curved run which may therefore consist speedily develops soft spots as well as unsightly of simple rails 10 or even a solid sheet of metal 75 dark patches and streaks. One of the particular for the bottom of the box to slide against. objects of the present invention is to provide The drum is provided with outwardly promeans for avoiding this initial injury to the fruit jecting box driving lugs 11 at both sides just so that an originally high grade product will be in back of the box supports 9 so that as the drum maintained as much as possible in that condiis rotated these lugs engage a box of fruit stopped 80 tion for the market. at B and carry it around the curved conveyor While the invention to be described uses the or guide 10" until it reaches an inverted poword fruit" to designate the commodity being sition C on top of the drum, the belt 7, how.- handled, this work is intended to include either ever. effectually covers the box the moment the fruits or'vegetables which are liable to injury box begins to ascend the curvedguide so that 85 when handled in the ordinary manner. no fruit can spill out or become wedged between Briefly described my invention comprises placthe drum and the box. ing each full box of fruit on a device which will Instead of placing the boxes one at a time cover the box so that the contents cannot fall on the gravity conveyor at A, the conveyor may out when the box is inverted, invert the covered be extended to the left from that point, at a 00 box, and gently lift the box while moving the slightly steeper angle and filled with boxes as covering material to carry the fruit away. Thus indicated, and an automatic box tripper proany detrimental falling of the fruit is entirely previded at point A to deliver them one at a time vented, and likewise any rubbing or sliding of to point B. This tripper may take the form the fruit on the receiving surface. of a rocker 12 pivoted at 13 to any rigid sup- 05 In the drawing accompanying this specification, port and the rocker provided with forward prongs Fig. l is a. side elevation of apparatus which will 14 adapted to come up in front of the box when carry out the invention. at A and hold it there as well as prevent the Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of a porrest of the boxes from coming down, and reartion of the device as seen from the line 2-2 of ward prongs as at 14' to come up in front of 100 Fig. 1 to show the relation of the fruit box sup the next box. This rocker cooperates with a secporting drum, covering belt, box pushing lugs, etc. 0nd rocking device 15 whichis positioned in In further detail, 1 is a revolvable drum with front of the box at the point B. This latter defiat spaces 2 of a size to cover the boxes to be vice 15 is a lever pivoted at 18 to a rigid support handled. This drum is revolvably mounted as and below the point of pivoting is pivotally 0011- 106 indicated and may be revolvedin direction of the nectcd at 17 to one end of a rod 18 which in arrow by any suitable drive arrangement. such as turn is pivoted at its other end at 19 to a point the worm wheel 3 and worm 4 indicated. There on rocker 12 in a manner so that when lever may be any number of fiat spaces around the 15 is pushed to the right or downward by the drum, but only two are shown as the drum may box being carried onward by the drum, it will more than for cherries.

throw rocker 12 to the left and thus lift prongs 14' up in front of the next box in the space X between the two lower portions of the two boxes caused by change of angularity of the conveyor I at that point.

Thus, as the box at B is carried forward by the drum, the box at A will be released to roll down the conveyor and the remaining boxes will be stopped. Then .as soon as box B has cleared lever 15 it will fiy back to position in front of the next box at B and release another box from the row to roll to position A. This return movement of lever 15 is caused by a tension spring 20 hooked from a fixed point to rod 18.

When the box reaches the uppermost inverted position it is picked on" of the drum by a pair of tracks 21 which engage under box cleats 5, as best shown in Fig. 2, and gradually separate the leading side of the box from the belt '7 which continues outward at a slight angle towards pulley 8. During continued rotation of the drum the driving lugs 9 push the box onto the tracks 21 and the fruit is gently deposited upon the belt all moving at the same speed so that no abrasion of the fruit takes place. The fruit is deposited in the form of a layer on the belt, and side guard rails 22 in the plane of the box receiving rails 21 prevent any of the fruit from rolling off the edge of the belt.

The fruit thus gently emptied from the box without bumping or other injury is carried along the belt for delivery to any desired mechanisms for cleaning, grading, packing, etc.

By a consideration of Fig. 2 it will be noticed that the box supports 9 carried by the drum are adjustable in slots on bolts 23 so as to determine the clearance XX between the belt and the box, for in case of pears this maybe considerably No particular importance attaches to the specific construction of the drum as it may be either of wood, sheet metal or merely a skeleton, as its function is only as a means to support the box and belt in covering relation while they are being inverted.

By a consideration of Fig. 1 it will be evident 7 without affecting the principle of the invention or its mode of operation.

During continued running of the machine the empty inverted boxes are shoved one against the other along rails 21 and may pass along to drop off at the ends of these rails or one rail may have a gap in itas indicated at 24 to discharge them to a suitable chute or conveyor 25.

Having thus described my invention and the general form of apparatus for carrying it out, what I claim is:--

1. Box handling equipment comprising means for supporting a box of fruit with open side of box directed upwardly, a belt adapted for coveringthe box, means for covering the box with said belt, means for advancing the box and its covering belt and inverting both box and belt, and means for separating the box from the belt whereby the fruit is deposited upon the belt.

2. Box handling equipment comprising means for supporting a box of fruit with open side of box directed upwardly, a belt adapted for covering the box, means for covering the box with said belt, means for advancing the box and its covering belt and inverting both box and belt, and means for gradually separating the box from the belt, starting at the leading edge of the box, whereby the fruit is deposited as a layer upon the belt.

3. In a structure as specified in claim 1, said belt being endless and extending laterally from the point of depositing the fruit thereon for carrying the fruit in a layer from said point.

4. In apparatus for handling open boxes of fruit, a revolvable drum-like device, a belt extending around the drum-like device and laterally therefrom, means for positioning an open top box of fruit adjacent the lower part of the drum-like device with said belt covering the fruit in the box, means for engaging said box as the drum revolves and carrying the box over the drum-like device to invert the box and deposit its fruit upon said belt, and means for diverting the inverted box from said drum-like device and belt so that the fruit is carried away on said belt.

5. In a structure as specified in claim 4, a curved guide to support the bottom of the box as it is carried over the drum-like device.

6. In a structure as specified in claim 4, means fixed to said drum for supporting the inverted box at its ends clear of said belt.

7. In a structure as specified in claim 4, the first mentioned means comprising a gravity conveyor leading to apoint below the drum-like device formed with an abrupt change of angularity to produce a space between two boxes at the lower edges thereof, a trip arranged to hold back a row of boxes on said conveyor provided with a finger operating in said space, another trip in the path of the boxes in advance of the first trip adapted to be engaged by a box in traveling, and means operated by movement of the second trip operatively connected to the first trip releasing one box at a time from said row.

8. In a structure as specified in claim 4, the first mentioned means comprising a gravity conveyor leading to a point below the drum-like device formed with an abrupt change of angularity to produce a space between two boxes at the lower edges thereof, a trip arranged to hold back a row of boxes on said conveyor provided with a finger operating in said space, another trip in the path of the boxes in advance of the first trip adapted to be engaged by a box in traveling and means operated by movement of the second trip operatively connected to the first trip releasing one box at a time from said row, said gravity conveyor arranged with a change of angle adjacent the first trip to provide a working space between the two first boxes of the row.

9. In a structure as specified in claim 4, said drum-like device provided with means causing said belt to extend fiat across the box.

GEORGE A. TURNER. 

